Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning duct boot insulation cover

ABSTRACT

A silicone or other insulating material is used as a cover for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning boot. The cover is formed to easily fit onto the boot by slipping over the outside of the boot. The cover eliminates the need to wrap the boot with insulation, a time-consuming process.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/796,528, filed Mar. 15, 2013, the contents are which are incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to duct work for interiorventilation systems, and more particularly to insulating the heating,ventilation, and air conditioning air supply and return duct boot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In homes and other building structures, a typical heating, ventilation,and air conditioning (HVAC) system includes a network of ducts thatsupply heated or cooled air to various rooms or areas of the buildingand return cooler or warmer air to the system. The duct systems areattached to furnaces, heat pumps, air conditioning units, or othersystems for affecting the temperature or ventilation of the air withinthe building.

An opening into a room or area of the building is generally located atthe end of a run of ductwork to permit the air to enter the room fromthe HVAC system or to be withdrawn from the room and returned to thesystem. These openings are often located in the floor of the room, butcan also be located on walls or the ceiling. The air flows into and outof the ductwork through a register that resembles a grate system to keepitems out of the HVAC system and ductwork. Between the run of ductworkand the register is a part of the system known as a “boot.” The bootcomes in a variety of shapes depending on its location along a run ofductwork.

HVAC ducts and other parts are often made of sheet metal or similarmaterial. To increase the efficiency of an HVAC system and to decreasethe loss of desired cold or warm air, HVAC ducts are often covered withinsulation material. For straight runs of ductwork, covering or wrappingwith an insulating material is relatively simple. For parts of thesystem that are used as elbows and other unusual shapes, such as theboots, installing insulation is more difficult.

Previously, HVAC boots have been wrapped with insulating tape or similarmaterial. This is a time consuming process for the installers and oftenresults in incomplete coverage of the boot due to improper installationor a poor fit and therefore incomplete insulation of the system,resulting in inefficiency due to the loss of cold air or warm air.

Therefore, there is a need for a better-fitting and easier-to-installway of insulating HVAC boots to improve the efficiency of HVAC systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to various exemplary embodiments, includingdevices and products.

These and other features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of theinvention are described below with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an implementation of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another implementation of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of yet another implementation of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges areprovided for various aspects of the implementations described. Thesevalues and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are notintended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, a number ofmaterials and ingredients are identified as suitable for various facetsof the implementations. These materials and ingredients are to betreated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of theclaims.

The invention relates to a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning(HVAC) duct boot cover that insulates the boot from loss of heated orcooled air. The cover slides quickly and easily over an existing HVACduct boot or can be installed as a new line of ductwork is installed.

As used herein, an HVAC “boot” refers to the portion of the HVAC ductthat connects the main duct line to the register or vent through whichthe heated, ventilated, or cooled air enters or exits a room. The bootcomes in various shapes, as set forth below, depending on whether theregister or vent is at the end of a line of ductwork or is in the middleof the line. The present invention is not limited by the shape of theboot itself.

The HVAC duct boot cover can be formed of various materials that providesufficient insulating performance to keep heat or cold air loss from theboot to a minimum. For example, the boot cover may be formed fromsilicone or similar carbon-, hydrogen-, and oxygen-based polymers. Theboot may be formed of open cell or closed cell insulation material, orfrom spray foam insulation. The boot may be formed from natural orsynthetic latex, polyurethane, or various natural or synthetic rubbermaterials. Fiberglass insulation could also be used, as well as moldedbubble wrap material.

The boot could be formed by injection molding the desired material intothe desired shapes to fit various HVAC boot sizes and shapes as needed.Other manufacturing methods known to those of ordinary skill in the artcould be used to form the material into the desired shape.

Referring to FIG. 1, the HVAC boot cover 10 is shown in oneimplementation that is common to the industry. The HVAC boot cover 10 isshaped to fit over an existing HVAC boot or to fit over an HVAC bootwhile it is being installed. The boot cover 10 includes an opening 12for the vent or register. The opening can be of various sizes dependingon the particular HVAC boot being used, which will vary based on thedesired size and characteristics of the register. Typical dimensions forthe opening would be about 2 to 4 inches by about 10 to 12 inches,although larger or smaller dimensions could also be used. At theopposite end of the boot cover 10 is a round opening 14 that wouldattach the boot to the line of ductwork. The opening 14 would typicallyattach to an elbow or straight duct, depending on the orientation of thesystem. While the diameter of the opening 14 can vary based on the sizeof the duct to which the boot is to be attached, a typical, standardopening diameter is about 6 inches.

The HVAC boot cover 10 will typically be about ¼ inch thick to providesufficient insulation for the system. Thicker covers 10 can be used asthe circumstances dictate, although this will result in increased costand will reduce the ease of installation of the cover 10. Similarly,thicknesses of less than ¼ inch may not provide sufficient insulationproperties for the HVAC boot and will result in more lost energy. Ofcourse, the thickness will depend on the exact material used. Lessthickness is necessary to provide a similar level of insulation when theR-value of the material is greater.

Referring to FIG. 2, the HVAC boot cover 20 is shown in anotherimplementation that is common to the industry. The HVAC boot cover 20 isshaped to fit over an existing HVAC boot or to fit over an HVAC bootwhile it is being installed. The boot cover 20 includes an opening 22for the vent or register. The opening can be of various sizes dependingon the particular HVAC boot being used, which will vary based on thedesired size and characteristics of the register. Typical dimensions forthe opening would be about 2 to 4 inches by about 10 to 12 inches,although larger or smaller dimensions could also be used. At theopposite end of the boot cover 20 is a round opening 24 that wouldattach the boot to the line of ductwork. The opening 24 would typicallyattach to an elbow or straight duct, depending on the orientation of thesystem. While the diameter of the opening 24 can vary based on the sizeof the duct to which the boot is to be attached, a typical, standardopening diameter is about 6 inches.

Referring to FIG. 3, the HVAC boot cover 30 is shown in yet anotherimplementation that is common to the industry. The HVAC boot cover 30 isshaped to fit over an existing HVAC boot or to fit over an HVAC bootwhile it is being installed. The boot cover 30 includes an opening 32for the vent or register. The opening can be of various sizes dependingon the particular HVAC boot being used, which will vary based on thedesired size and characteristics of the register. Typical dimensions forthe opening would be about 2 to 4 inches by about 10 to 12 inches,although larger or smaller dimensions could also be used. At theopposite end of the boot cover 30 is a round opening 34 that wouldattach the boot to the line of ductwork. The opening 34 would typicallyattach to an elbow or straight duct, depending on the orientation of thesystem. While the diameter of the opening 34 can vary based on the sizeof the duct to which the boot is to be attached, a typical openingdiameter is about 6 inches.

In use, the HVAC boot cover would be slipped over and around theexisting HVAC boot to substantially cover the outer surface of the boot.The boot cover is formed of a material that provides insulatingproperties to the boot cover and protects the boot cover from the lossof heat, cold air, or ventilated air, as desired. The HVAC boot coversare available in standard sizes to fit various HVAC boots, makinginstallation easier as compared to time-consuming methods of wrappingHVAC boots with insulation material.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with specificexemplary implementations, it is evident to those skilled in the artthat many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparentin light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention isintended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variationsthat fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cover for an HVAC boot, the cover formed of asingle piece of a material that provides sufficient insulatingproperties to minimize the loss of air from the HVAC boot.
 2. The coverof claim 1, wherein the material is silicone.
 3. The cover of claim 1,wherein the material has a thickness of about ¼ inch.
 4. A cover for anHVAC boot, the cover formed of a single piece of material that providesinsulating properties to the HVAC boot, the cover including a firstopening for a vent or register and a second opening where the HVAC bootattaches to a main duct line.
 5. The cover of claim 4, wherein thematerial is silicone, a natural or synthetic latex, a natural orsynthetic rubber, fiberglass, polyurethane, or a mixture thereof.
 6. Thecover of claim 4, wherein the material has a thickness of about ¼ inch.7. A cover for an HVAC boot, the cover formed of a single piece ofmaterial that provides insulating properties to the HVAC boot, the covercomprising: a first opening for a vent or register, the opening havingdimensions of about 2 to 4 inches by about 10 to 12 inches; and a secondopening that is round and has a diameter of about 6 inches; wherein thecover has a thickness of about ¼ inch.
 8. The cover of claim 7, whereinthe material is silicone, a natural or synthetic latex, a natural orsynthetic rubber, fiberglass, polyurethane, or a mixture thereof.
 9. Thecover of claim 8 formed by injection molding.